Fantastically Fun Family Game Night

    How many of you enjoy family game night? We definitely do, as well as many other families. But did you know that family game nights aren't just fun, but they're GOOD for your kids as well?

Fantastically Fun Family Game Night

    I grew up with family game nights, so of course I couldn't wait to pass that tradition down to my kids. I've always felt it was an important way to bond and have fun together. Then I found out that studies were done and game nights (as well as family dinners,) help your children learn, grow and develop better than those that don't partake in family game nights.

Can you guess the word? Let me help. "PARENTING IS OFTEN S---SS-UL" ;)

Give the Gift of Fun and Learning for Valentine's Day

    We give our kid small gifts for major holidays. It cuts down of giving them extra sugars, because let's face it, kids are hyper enough without added sugars! So why not give a gift for the entire family? Celebrate Valentine's Day with a gift, and share your love, while having fun! 

Discovery Toys

    I recently came across Discovery Toys. They have a huge selection of toys and games for every age, gender, and skill set. Whether you're a special needs family, or you're just looking for some fun, then look no further than Discovery Toys. (If you are an Autism or Special Needs family, then check out their toy guide.)

    I even connected with Tessa, whom is an education leader. She is not only wonderful, but can help you choose the perfect toy for your child. Do you need to fulfill a sensory need for your kid? Maybe you want them to work on their fine motor skills? Either way, Tessa and Discovery Toys can help.

    Since we're big into our family game nights, Tessa pointed out Discovery Toys new Word Flip. When we received it, I knew it was going to be a hit with Liam. To me it's like Scrabble and Hang Man in an easier way to play.

Word Flip is Super Fun!

    It really is. It's also easy to play! The object is to guess the word before other players. Each player rolls the two dice (included) and then you either add, subtract, multiply or divide them to get a number between 0 and 9. You then flip down that number (or you can flip down a combination of two numbers that you have rolled) to reveal a letter (or a blank depending on the length of the word.)

    The first person to guess the word gets the points of the remaining numbers that are left. When the word has been guessed correctly, flip up all of the numbers, then roll up that card and put it in the back to reveal the new word. Word Flip has over 300 hundreds words that will give players varying levels of difficulty.

Spelling, Fine Motor Skills, and More

    As a mom, I love toys and games that do more than just entertain, and Word Flip does much more than that! Playing this game will not only bring your family hours of fun, but it will help expand your children's vocabulary and spelling. Word Flip helps with strategic thinking, strengthens social skills, and helps kids visualize whole from parts. In my opinion it also works those pesky fine motor skills. Flipping the letters, rolling up the next card and even rolling the dice all help kids with their fine motor skills.

Liam saw this and said, "My mama is a ......" :)

So Much More

    Word Flip is just ONE example of the many toys and games that you will find at Discovery Toys. To see more, you have to head their website, or even contact Tessa. 

Be sure to "LIKE" and follow Tessa on Facebook too! 

PAWfect Gifts for Your Beloved FURiends

Our girls are spoiled just like our human kids. After all, they're a huge part of our family. So with Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought I'd share some of our girls favorite treats.

  PAWfect Gifts for Your Beloved FURiends

    We have three special fur babies in our home. The eldest Josie has been Liam's best friend since he was just four years old. She's a little one, but full of sass and spunk. Then came Bayleigh. She's our german shepherd and though she was trained to be Liam's service dog, he didn't bond with her, and so she bonded with me. Then there's Clara. She's Liam's little girl. He waited outside in the pouring rain for three hours to rescue that feral and sickly kitten. Now's she's large and in charge, and runs the house! Because we love these furry beasts with all of our hearts, and because they're part of our family, they're spoiled just like the boys. When we need stuff for them, we head right to Chewy.com. 

    Not only are their prices awesome, but their customer service can't be beat. We always get our orders in 24 to 72 hours which is super fast compared to most places. My girls know a Chewy box when they see it and they're all over it.

Show Them How Much You Love Them 

    I just placed an order a few days ago because I needed flea treatments for all of them. (Even though it's winter, the fleas are still around!) So I ordered some special goodies for them in honor of Valentine's Day. (Plus it upped my order to free shipping ;) ) So let's talk about some of them.

Feline Fondness

    Liam chose two products for his daughter, and let me tell you, Clara is in love! First he chose PureBites for her. If you're not familiar with these, they're freeze dried snacks for your cat (or dog.) He picked the Shrimp ones for Clara. They're actually little dried shrimp and she goes nuts when she hears that bag! 

    He also got her a cute little toy from Petstages. (They have stuff for both your cats and dogs.) Their ORKAkat Wiggle Worm is not only cute, but it's perfect for little cats cutting teeth. So it said it's infused with catnip, which is another reason Liam chose it. Let me tell you, as soon as I opened it, you could smell the catnip. I was shocked! I've gotten catnip infused treats before, and never have they been great. This Wiggle Worm is awesome! (Also, it's quite inexpensive, which is another plus!)

Doggie Devotion

    My family has trusted Nylabone products for years. This past Christmas we introduced our girls to their newer line called Healthy Edibles. These bones are amazing! First of all, they're a much healthier and safe option compared to giving your dog a rawhide. Secondly, they're more like a real bone in taste (and for some, even appearance.) They're meant to be eaten so they're tasty and very digestible, but will also keep your fur babies busy for quite awhile. With a bunch of different sizes, you will find some for any dog in your home. They have flavors such as bacon, bison, venison, and more.

    I also got the girls some Redbarn Natural food rolls. My poor Josie has major allergies to almost everything, so we're working on tweeking her diet to help with her skin. That's how I found Redbarn. Their food rolls are made with all natural ingredients, with no added colors or harmful junk. The first and biggest ingredient is always meat. You can use the rolls as a complete meal, or even as a meal topper to get your dog to enjoy their dry kibble more. Both Josie and Bayleigh love this food, so I will be ordering more. 

Chewy.com and more

    As I said in the beginning, I got all of these goodies (and more,) from Chewy.com. They're prices are amazing. You can also get all of these direct from the manufacturer, and since they're all fantastic products, I suggest you check out their other items. I will link their social media sources below, and their individual web pages are linked above with their names. So get shopping, and show your fur babies some love!

Chewy.com

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

PureBites

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Petstages

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Nylabone

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

Redbarn Naturals

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube

Sensory Fun Your Kids are Going to Love

    We have been having a blast this week with some really cool products we just received from Sensory Jungle! We love them and know your kids will too!

Sensory Fun Your Kids are Going to Love

    Liam has always been a huge sensory seeker. There are things he does avoid but that's mainly certain food textures, or sticky things. (For example, he wears rubber gloves to eat apples.) One of his favorite go to toys has always been water beads. He loves watching them change in size and shape as the grow.

Growing our water beads

    We use them in a pan and he puts his hands and feet in them. I used them to teach him fractions in math too! Just a few measuring cups, and kids can start learning their fractions by seeing how many of the smaller cups it takes to fill the one cup. (See, math can be fun!) He also likes to take them outside and bounce them off the porch to see how high they go. (Note: that's pretty darn high!) Another thing he loves to do is make them and put them in my big bathtub. It's super deep, so he can get in there in his swim trunks and "swim" in the water beads. However, when you purchase your beads from most places, you don't get enough.

    For Christmas, Liam received a water beads play set. You crush the beads, and then mold them into play foods. It's a fun way to work on those fine motor skills. The best part is that our water beads from Sensory Jungle go so much further than other brands. That means, hours, days, weeks, and more of fun sensory play. 

    I put some in a jar and placed them onto a light up base. This made a really pretty sensory light for Liam's room. (It's out of his reach for no chance of breakage.) However, Voss water bottles will work too, and be a safer alternative. 

DIY Sensory Night Light with Sensory Jungle Water Beads

Get Bigger and Better Fun with Sensory Jungle

     That's not the case with Sensory Jungle! For under ten bucks you get over twenty THOUSAND water beads. Get this! You take one tablespoon of beads per gallon of water! So just ONE tablespoon makes a GALLON of pretty big water beads! That's fantastic!! (These are much bigger than the "name brand" ones.)

Just ONE TABLESPOON of these Sensory Jungle water beads, makes one GALLON of sensory fun!

Bring the Snow Fun INSIDE!

    Snow is so pretty isn't it? We love playing in the snow, but neither of us appreciate the coldness of it. Which is where Still Valley Fake Snow comes in. This stuff is so cool! It's a STEM lesson and sensory play all in one. Water transforms this polymer powder into fluffy snow. It's perfect for a sensory station, and can even be used for crafts. (A 100 grams of Still Valley Fake Snow will make about two gallons of snow.)

    We put ours on a tray and Liam used it to play with his action figures. He loved making a snowy landscape to play in. When he was finished, he scooped it all back up and placed it in bags for another day. (The scooping is a great way for kids to work on those pesky fine motor skills.) 

So Much More From Sensory Jungle

    These are just two of the fun products that Sensory Jungle has to offer. As you can see, we love them and we think you will too! Valentine's Day is coming. Skip the candy for your kids, and get them some sensory and STEM learning fun! 

You can visit Sensory Jungle HERE. Or you can find them on Amazon too!
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